In Auvergne, more and more streams are drying up, becoming over the years simple trickles of water.
And more and more voices are raised against the company Volvic, owned by the Danone group, accused of lowering the flow of rivers by its withdrawals.
REPORTAGE
The Partizon is one of the countless streams of Auvergne, a region long considered the "water tower of France".
But today, it's just a trickle of water.
"There was about 50 to 60 cm of water here, people were swimming. Today it's a trickle of water, it has nothing to do with what we experienced 15 years ago. or 20 years. There are 2 cm maximum ", alarms Jacky Massy, of the association for the defense of the environment Preva, at the microphone of Europe 1.
In question ?
On the one hand, there are farmers, who take a lot of water for their crops.
But for Jacky Massy, it is above all to Volvic that the responsibility falls.
The bottled water company is accused of lowering waterways through its withdrawals, especially in summer.
“Since 2017, we have had extremely hard droughts. But there are huge volumes of water in front of our eyes coming out of the Volvic water company. And always at the wrong time, that is to say during the summer. In the heat of the heat, we see trucks leaving the factory, "annoys the activist.
Danone denies these accusations
Volvic, a brand of the Danone group, rejects these accusations en bloc.
"Today, compared to an authorization granted to us, we meet the needs of the markets and consumers, by not drawing all of the water that is granted to us", assures Cathy Le Hec, head of protection. sources.
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The state is also singled out by those who accuse Volvic.
They consider it far too complacent with Danone's collection rights, which have increased a lot in recent years.